Among the many different types of building material I work with in scenic design one of my favorites would have to be styrofoam. It can be used for a host of applications. Its light weight, ease of cutting and ability to hold paint make it versatile. It is inexpensive , scrap is often sold as cheap as 20cents a pound, and easy to get.
We just recently used styrofoam on a very cool project pictured above called big magic book. The trees shown here were carved of foam as well as the cobblestone structure seen in the lower right!
If you live in a metropolitan area their is probably at least one foam fabricator near you. Everything from fake rocks to crown molding can be made from styrofoam and with a good coating it can hold up to a lot of abuse. Here are a few tips on how to work with styrofoam.
1. Use almost anything to cut it with. For simple sheet projects such as rock for walls I use a box knife. I much prefer the new lockback models for weight and ease of use. (try it, I know sounds crazy, but you will LOVE it) For bigger carving jobs I have an electric chain saw. Dremel tools, power saws and routers can also be used to shape and add detail.
2. Water based adhesives such as craft glue or even elmers work best, but take time to dry, liquid nails can be used for a quick bond but will eat some types of styrofoam
3. Water based paint such as latex will work weel for adding color and detail to your foam creations. Spray paint will eat the foam, but can be used over latex or as a unique special effect.
4. You can make your own protective coating using cheesecloth and a mixture of elmer's , or just plain white, glue and latex paint (add about 1 part glue to 3 parts paint) Cut your cheesecloth into manageable squares, paint your surface well with the glue/paint mixture and apply cheese cloth on top using a paint brush to work it into the details and smooth it out.
1 comment:
This looks awesome! I'm going to try to make one for my photography studio. Thanks!
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